Little Cottonwood Canyon

Sydney Mardanlou
Geology 1010 Inkenbrandt
November 26, 2016

Little Cottonwood Canyon, located on the east side Salt Lake City, Utah, in the WasatchCache National Forest, is a famous geologic site for the history of the valley. The Little
Cottonwood Canyon is the most recent formation after billions of years of geological change
occurring (Harris, 2011). As one may imagine, it was a slow process with many details effecting
the formation on and under the surface. One of the oldest rocks available to help us understand
the history of this canyon is at the mouth, found in the Park and Ride lot in the Little Willow
Complex (Case, 2005). This rock is not a part of the Big Cottonwood Canyon, but instead
displays the history of the once the Neoproterozoic supercontinent Rodinia. (Harris, 2011).
These rocks seen in the Little Willow Complex, have undergone great amounts of heat and
pressure over the ages, therefore melting the original minerals, to create one rock.
Throughout the canyon, several rocks appeared to have moss growing on them, but until
this is more closely observed, it is an easy confusion to make. The mossy like substance is
actually a mineral called epidote that grows along the fractures of a rock, which in this case was
granite, evidence of hydrology. Going into 20,000-14,000 years ago, the area of the canyon was
filled with one of the biggest lakes in history, known as Lake Bonneville. This massive body of
water and the glacial till from the great climate change, moved massive amounts of rocks to form
the canyon. It went from a narrow and winding valley to a wide canyon, due to the buildup and
overflow from these massive glaciers (Harris, 2011).
Lastly, the most recent movement that shifts the position and landscape of the canyon
occurs along the famous Wasatch Fault line (Schneider, 1925). Several repetitions of earthquakes
over thousands of years also had a large impact on the shaping of the canyon. The earthquakes
and different fault movements over the years is what caused the massive slope to occur, the most
well-known fault line being that of the Wasatch Fault. (Case, 2005) Along Hellgate Falls, near

Snowbird Ski Resort, one will notice the connection between the darker shale, and light colored
quartzite layers that have changed due to the reverse faults and movements there (Blackwelder,
1928). The reality is, the canyon is a large portion of land that was formed and reshaped several
times over billions of years, and this land is still being reconstructed by much weathering,
hydrology, exfoliation, and plate tectonics.

Works Cited - Little Cottonwood Canyon

Blackwelder, E.. (1928). The Recognition of Fault Scarps. The Journal of
Geology, 36(4), 289311.
Case, W.F., Eldredge, S.N., Milligan, M.R., and Wilkerson, C., 2005, Geologic
Guide to the Central Wasatch Front Canyons: Utah Geologic Survey
Public Information Series 87,
http://files.geology.utah.gov/geo_guides/c_wasatch/pdf/pi-87.pdf.
Currey, D.N., Atwood, G., and Maybe, D.N., 1984, Major Levels of Great Salt
Lake Bonneville: Utah Geological Survey Map 73,
http://files.geology.utah.gov/online/m/m-73/.pdf.
Harris, R., 2011, Exploring the geology of Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah:
the greatest story ever told by nine miles of rock: Brigham Young
University Geology Studies Special Publication No. 11, 80 pgs.,
https://files.geology.utah.gov/online/pi/pi-87.pdf.
Ives, R. L.. (1950). Glaciations in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah. The
Scientific Monthly, 71(2), 105117.
Richmond, Gerald M., 1964. Glaciations of the Little Cottonwood and Bells
Canyons, Wasatch Mountains, Utah, Shorter Conributions To General
Geology. Paper 454-D. https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0454d/report.pdf.
Schneider, H. (1925). A Discussion of Certain Geologic Features of the
Wasatch Mountains. The Journal of Geology, 33(1), 28-48.